A Giveaway with Minted

It's that time of year again where Christmas cards are on the fore front of my mind. As you know Minted is our go to. They feel custom with all the various options available without the price tag. This year they even have an option of using different edges {one featured in the first image} that has me head over heels. I am still narrowing down our pick for this year, but these are a few that are my radar. Oh, and the last pic is of us from a couple of years ago. The kiddos officially think they are famous. Ha. The giveaway is for $75.00 towards any holiday card of your choice. Yippee!!!!

Now to the rules:

Go to Minted and pick what your favorite holiday card design. Then hop back on over here and let me know your pick in the comments! So easy. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you if your comment doesn't attach to an email already.

I will announce a winner on Monday!

The Home Depot Holiday Challenge Reveal

We are still in Disney and having a blast! I thought I would pop in and let you know that the Holiday Style Challenge I did for Home Depot is up on their blog today. I seriously had so much fun getting to take part. My particular challenge was the mantel and I hope you pop over to see all my hard work. Ha. Go here to see the full post! Hope you like it!

Very soon, possibly tomorrow, I will be hosting my yearly Minted giveaway!!!! Be sure to check back for more details.

and we are off...

We are off to Disney World today! We could not be any more excited. Some days we are visiting parks and others we will be relaxing at the resorts. Who would have ever thought Disney World would become such a vaca destination highlight for me. Ha. The things that having kiddos did to me. To be honest though eating through Disney is a major perk for me. I already have my gluten free menu mapped out thanks to the Mr. I tried to create posts for the coming week although I did not have time before we left. I did try! Our trip will be a no blogging one I am sure, but I will continue to tweet and instagram away! {paulacoldiron is used on both accounts FYI} See you all soon!!!!

- image of Chanel Iman for Vogue Deutsch photographed by Mark Seliger

The Laundry Room {inspiration board + process}

The last project I have for inside the house is to makeover the laundry room. It is the most awkward space. It not only serves as a tiny laundry room, but also the walk through from the house to garage. I really can not express to you how tight it is especially since both doors swing into the already tiny room. One day I hope to change out the door that leads into the house into two smaller double doors that swing outward, but it's just not in the budget as of right now. I may try taking the door down for now and possibly using NICE curtains to cover the doorway if I can accomplish it without it looking too awful. We shall see. Above is the inspiration board for the space. The walls are already painted anew gray by Sherwin Williams and I still like it so it will remain. I will then take the one wire rack in the room, which I can't even reach, down and replace them with three wooden shelves with corbels. I plan to paint them Home Depot's Yolo Paint in Thrive. The shelves will begin just above where the washer and dryer begin. That way I will be able to at least reach one shelf. Ha. I rod will also be mounted so I can hang clothes as I go. The top shelf will house some gorgeous baskets I found at HomeGoods and store my crazy amount of fabrics. The shelves will also hold my bulk buys of Mrs. Meyers. I love the idea that Ana White made out of plywood and laundry baskets. If I can make it fit between the two units, I want to build something similar with three "drawers" to store all the folded laundry as I go. I can then bringthe baskets to the designated room once all the laundry has been completed and unload. Of course I will design it to fit our space better. Without having one of the doors in the way I would then have space to hang a drying rack and large ironing board. I am giddy with the prospect. Of course they will not fit in the laundry room open, but I can bring them into the large hall on laundry day. To top it all off a print from Old Try will make an appearance to cover the unsightly water supply valve thing. I believe this one would make me have a continual good attitude. Anyhoo, that is my process and plan for the laundry room. Hoping to accomplish it ASAP!

Basket | Corbel | Storage Idea | Yolo paint from Home Depot | Mrs. Meyers | Old Try Print | Ikea Drying Rack

The Girl can Twirl {+ an update}

Sometimes I look at sweet Ellie and almost don't recognize her. She is becoming quite the lady with tons of ideas, creativity, and spirit so kind it baffles even me. She loves Jesus with all her heart, she exudes a patience that puts me into check, and is quite the beauty if I say so myself. She still rides horses, but has also taken up ballet. The other day she started showing me some of her new found moves so I grabbed the camera and shot away. This is Ellie...

 AN UPDATE: Some of you may remember this post about our struggles with Ellie and school. I thought a little update would be in order since so many of you were absolutely heart warming and encouraging while I was in a hard place. We decided to hold her back for one year. She is repeating 1st grade and it is the best decision we could have made for her. She has flourished to say the least. She has great friendships and her best friend from last year still remains that way even though they are in different grades now. She has done better academically in some areas yet still struggles in things like spelling. She finally came of age, you have to be seven, to have her tested for dyslexia. She does have a mild case so with some work we shall overcome. Her phonological Processing scored well below average, but her Cognitive/Problem solving scored in the 99th percentile. She is part genius! The Doctor expressed that my Ellie is one of the most brilliant children she has ever met. I may have cried, a lot. I kind of got used to people telling me she is sweet, but it's always followed up with concerns. Honestly it has been a hard process for myself emotionally. I had/have dyslexia and it is something you never want to pass down to your children. To this day I can't repeat a phone number back if spoken to me, my time frame is completely out of sync with reality, ect, yet I can read just fine and I can write. Not always without error of course, but well enough. The Doctor giving her the test showed me the exact test she gave Ellie. I failed in most areas still. I did not get even a fraction of what Ellie could see within the Cognitive Problem Solving. I was at a loss and slightly embarrased to say the least. My high now is knowing how we can help her and simply move forward. This will not define her.